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銀公雞的光輝長廊 (Beware of Chicken) 貪得無厭的班卓人無情的教導 (Banjo Practice) Work ligaments every day for at least 3 sessions - Working to get better in the "window", or holding frets 8 and 9 while switching among 10, 11, 12 on the banjo. Means my poor left pinky needs to learn new ROM's and lots of small physical therapy-style sessions every day are best. Reward - an Earl Skrugg's songbook!! Practice on fucking Thursdays and Saturdays - those days are the most often skipped. Reward - fancy new picks!! 沉睡惡魔的隱密法庭和他的許多仁慈 (Sleep Hygiene) 7 hours per day in a week Reward - Punjabi curry bowl on takeout Friday!! 支撐世界的烏龜必須自己更換無價的外殼 (Moving Prep) Empty both garage bays - before and after pics included. Reward - AYCE sushi!! Organize craft area - before and after pics included. Reward - $25 order credit on Pandahall!! Put away Christmas shit. Reward - $25 order credit on Pandahall!! 短暫的鑿子賦予了看不見的奇蹟以形式 (Sculpture Production) Print & paint Brigid v1.0 - pics before and after painting. Print & paint Persephone v.20 - pics before and after painting. Print & paint Oski-Otsi v2.0 - pics before and after painting. Print & paint Frō-Ingvi v2.0 - pics before and after painting. Print & paint Ylgr v2.0 - pics before and after painting. Print & paint Lucy-Asherah v1.0 - pics before and after painting. Reward - re-order lion's tail petals. 光榮但笨重的泰坦研究卑微但不知疲倦的螞蟻 (Barbell Volume) 3x8 sets at 65% 4x a week. Whining before and after is not mandatory but will be included. In copious amounts. Reward - replace the old crumbling gym bag!!

2023 was a good year: I got a new job, I got married and I found out that I really like kettlebell sport. My life is steady, I'm happy with my weight and I'm progressing nicely with the bells. Still, I wanna challenge, since it is January and it is the season of new goals and good intentions. My sports-calender currently looks like this: Jan 13: snatch competition Feb 18: full KB competition Mar 24: powerlifting meet I'm looking forward to all of this, since the people at the gym are awesome and these competitions are very wholesome. The KB training is all set, I just show up twice a week and all is fine. For the powerlifting, it is time to start training again since I did not really do that for quite some time now. Goals: 1. Do all the powerlifting lifts at least once a week, with exception of deload week. For example squats + bench press on Wednesday after KB training, deadlift on Sunday after KB training 2. Work on posture at least 3 times per week. My shoulders are rolling inwards, and it is causing some pain at my collar bone. Not sure yet what I will do to correct it. Something with pulling exercises and stretches. My hips could also some work. Suggestions for specific routines are welcome, although I prefer to keep the sessions short to keep them accessible. 3. Incorporate vegetables at lunch one workday per week. I'm working hard for my muscles, I want to see them at some point as well! My typical lunch is sandwiches, so hopefully adding some vegetables will make them more filling.

So I've been in and out of here a lot. The "getting back to it after 2nd baby" schedule got detonated by several things up to and including major right wrist surgery for my husband. So it's time to go back to basics. To start over. To (sort of) respawn. I'm starting where I started 10 years ago with Stronglifts 5x5 roughly. (You will notice I increment weight in the middle of sets rather than each morning. And weights are a little TBD as I get in the swing of things. The main point is that this is a high volume program.) Last week was week 1. I will log it here for completeness. This week, week 2, I didn't make it to the gym Monday, but will go Wednesday and Friday. My goal is to get 2/3 of MWF for 8 weeks. After 8 weeks it will probably be time for me to switch things up from 5x5 and add in more calisthenics, more one-legged work, and got 531 or something for the bigger lifts. TBD. Biking, especially bike commuting will get worked in ASAP, but the baby mornings, one-handed husband, and pumping schedule are all things that need to settle down a bit first. Last week's log. Monday 10/9 - at work 1/2 time sort of. 4th gym trip in 4 months. Climbed 5.8 up and down, 5.10, 3 routes of 5.10- not all complete Back squat 45 5x, 65 5x, 75 5x3 (reps x sets) Kettlebell press (each arm) 18 lbs 5x5. Tried a few reps at 22 lbs, but too heavy Deadbugs and Pilates bridges 5 and 4 for 3 sets Wednesday 10/11 Climbed repeat 5.9 2x, Black 5.9 2x missed last move, 5.10-, 5.10 blue and crimpy, made it 2/3 up. Back squat 45 5x, 75 5x, 85 5x4 Bench 45 5x, 55 5x4, 65 5x Barbell row 65 5x2, 75 5x bad form, 70 5x2 Friday 10/13 Biked to the gym and back Back squat 45 5x, 85 5x2, 90 5x3 Hangs Kettlebell press 18 5x5 Deadlift 135 5x3, 155 3x2 Barbell OHP test 45 3x felt heavy We'll catch up with our protagonist as she gets moving again. Having dropped baby griffon off in some happy fishing grounds, it's time for further questing. (Although the winged friend will get frequent check-ins.)

I decided not to pigeonhole myself into another theme and want to weasel my way out halfway through. I figured by keeping it neutral I can use what inspiration I want so long as I maintain discipline. A few things are inspiring me right now: Diablo 4, the Death Wolf from Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Remnant 2 archetypes, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Mistborn and Bronze Era Bodybuilders. I realize this is a myriad of different things but collectively it’s keeping me topped off with ample amounts of inspiration. But, anyways, besides allowing this challenge to be more free form, it also allows me to focus on something I’ve wanted to implement since fitness became a part of my life. That is the philosophy of wolflean. If you’re familiar with David Gemmell, one of my favorite authors of all time, he would sometimes describe his warrior characters as being “wolf-lean”. I first discovered this word many, many years ago and the ideal behind it has been burned into my brain ever since. The aesthetic behind the word is apparent but also the mindset and what it takes to become wolflean has always been with me. I’m going to take my inspiration from DCC (Dungeon Crawler Carl) and Remnant 2 archetypes to create a little RPG adventure for myself for the gamifying aspects of this challenge. Let’s start with that: Archetype: Challenger Trait: Strongback Accumulate 500 pull-ups/chin-ups this challenge This equates to 100 pull-ups a week, which is 14.2857143 a day. Let’s round up to 15 Grease-the-groove is the best way to get this done, unless a workout calls for pull-ups or chin-ups. Use 20# weighted vest at least 1x a week Bonus: Complete the Murph WOD with the vest. Damage Perk: Close Quarters 1-2x a week KB complex The whole point is to get in a quality metcon and break a sweat…maybe even second guess my fitness choices. GET. AFTER. IT. Focus on double KB’s This can be done AFTER a workout or on a separate day altogether Team Perk: Intimidating Presence Core Work Daily aka Adamantine Abs I neglect my core more often than I should. Not this challenge. Core must be worked at every workout and on non-training days, I need to spend 3-5min on a core workout. This could be as simple as hollow holds or loaded carries Utility Perk: Powerlifter The focus is SQUATS & BENCH PRESS Back squat, front squat, hack squat – focus on utilizing these 3 Barbell bench press – focus on the getting stronger with bench Wear weight belt, knee sleeves, wrist wraps and “proper shoes” *more on these below* Utility Perk: Face of Danger Clean eating and quality sleep Shoot for veggies at least 1x meal a day Generally this isn’t an issue, but it’s nice to put a little pressure on to make it happen every day The goal is: 200g of protein a day. This would be the only macro I would track. Sleep is a whole other monster in itself- but napping and getting to bed ASAP during the work week does wonders. Nap on training days Try and get to bed by 11pm Su-Th These perks are from the archetype: Challenger from Remnant 2. It’s an upcoming souls-like shooter and a sequel to the smash hit, Remnant: From The Ashes. They just released an IGN special showcasing the Gunslinger archetype and on one of the menu screens it shows the Challenger archetype as well. When I saw the names of these I was instantly inspired. According to my source, the Challenger showcase is set to premier sometime soon - possibly in the next week. Now, let's focus on my gym gear. I’m also adding an RPG twist on this and all these items are directly inspired by DCC. I had a LOT of fun coming up with these Current Gear: Heavyweight Title Belt of the Naga Berserker Type: Legendary Weight Belt Description: The Naga Berserker is renowned for its fighting prowess and insane levels of strength. Out of all the Naga subclasses, the Berserker is legendary for its insane constrictive power and consistent winning streak for the Naga Ultra Body Building contest held each Summer. Able to squeeze the life out of a full-grown elephant with ease, the last thing you want to do is tangle with these guys up close (or go head to head with them in a bodybuilding contest). This title belt is made from the thickly shed skin of the winningest Naga Berserker of all time, Sssamuel Gunther Sssullivan the Third, allowing the wearer to retain some of his residual strength. The belt will fasten down with force so take a deep breath, pose like you mean it and become the Peach Daddy you were born to be. Stats: +5 to STR +2 CON Special Ability: Braced Core With Braced Core, the lifter can typically lift about 2-5% more weight. Placebo effect? Maybe. They always say physicality is 87% mental! Embody the spirit of Sssamual Gunther Sssulivan III and GIT GUD, BRO! Those weights aint lifting themselves! When barbell squatting or deadlifting, there’s a 12% chance to hit a PR +1 to INT Once buckled, the lifter is granted a temporary buff called: Sssmart Lifter Sssmart Lifter activates for the duration of the working set. This seemingly small buff reminds the lifter of all the times they haven’t used a weight belt and the injuries that followed. Way to go, dummy! On the plus side, this buff gives you a 50% boost in confidence immediately thereafter. This increases an additional 15% if you flex on ‘em. Bonus Buff: Berserker Mode If paired with rock music, there is an additional 5% chance to hit a PR. Chance to break out in an air guitar solo equals 100%! Enchanted Azure Knee Sleeves of the Rickety Bone Mage Type: Epic Knee Sleeves Description: Bone Mages, while very powerful and deadly, are one hit away from becoming a pile of dusty bones. Most bone mages wear protective cloaks, light armor and dope up on copious amounts of vitamin D3 to ensure their precious skeletons stay together without tendons and muscle. Well placed knee sleeves while carrying the whole team on their back ensures a couple more seconds in the fight and prevents early onset of Osteoporosis. You’re still a glass cannon but maybe now you’re closer to bullet proof glass! Stats: +2 to CON Special Ability: Ass-to-Grass When you slide these knee sleeves on you have a 33% chance to get ass-to-grass on your barbell squats. Knee popping may be a thing, but nothing says “deep squat” like when your juicy, marshmallow butt hits your calf muscle. Bonus Buff: Lawn Mower If you manage to go ass-to-grass on an entire set then there is a 80% chance your next set mimics the last. All reps on the previous set must be lower than 90 degrees. How loooooow can you go?! Obsidian Wrist Wraps of the Master Assassin Type: Legendary Wrist Wraps Description: Whether striking from the shadows with a well placed knife to the spine or vaulting on rooftops like your Ezio Auditore, master assassins have been stalking their prey for centuries. These wraps don’t just protect your wimpy little wrist joints - they solidify them! Stabbing unsuspecting foes in the back is hard work, ya know?! Also, they just look cool as hell. Throw up your cloak hood and sharpen your hidden daggers cuz shit’s about to get messy. Stats: +4 to DEX +2 to STR Special Ability: Gym Reaper Once these wraps are synched tight you all of a sudden feel like the baddest motherfucker on the planet. Nothing can stop you. Especially exercises that require the use of wrist wraps, like: the bench press. You gain a 90% boost on your arm durability and stability for the duration of your workout. You also increase your likelihood of not needing a spotter by 6%. But, who are we kidding - you should use one anyways! Situational Buff: Commander Taggart Special When performing reps of 5 or lower, you have a 55% chance to bare your teeth and dig yourself out of the hole when things get heavy and difficult. Never give up, never surrender! However, if you bounce the barbell off your chest to get the rep then that % drops to 5%. Bonus Buff: It’s a Wrap! Every time you re-tighten these wraps there’s a 20% chance that your recovery time receives a boost. It starts at 1% and works its way up to 5% for a total of 5 stacks. If you manage to get to 5 stacks, then lactic acid has no effect on you….at least until the next day. I never said this would cure DOMS! T-800 Terminator Hi-Tops Type: Unique Item Note: You can only have 1x unique item equipped at a time. Description: Come with me if you want to live. Introduced in 1985 (and just a year after The Terminator hit theaters), the Nike Terminator’s were the first signature shoes introduced to a specific college basketball team: the Georgetown Hoyas. These unique hi-top sneakers offer a myriad of benefits, including saving John Connor and sometimes trying to hunt him down depending on what timeline. Either way, Skynet has a back-up plan and showing up naked through a time portal is priority #1! Like well built killing machines, these sneakers give you the ability that seemingly reinforces all the bones in your body, making you nearly indestructible. When paired with lifts like squats and deadlifts, The T-800’s are absolute tanks and offer a unique skill unlike any other sneaker out there. So, flip-trick your sawed off shotgun like the badass you are and let Cyberdyne Systems know who’s boss: Hasta la vista, baby! Stats: +2 Vertical Jump +1 Speed +1 Agility +1 Ankle support +2 Squats Special Ability: I’ll be Back! When active, you gain a 5% strength bonus when performing Back Squats and a 2% strength bonus to ALL back exercises. If you go 3+ or more sets of Back Squats, there’s a 20% chance to activate a buff called: WD40. This buff essentially loosens up your joints, specifically your hips so you can get lower with each rep and hit a squat groove that would make Shakira jealous. As you know, these hips don’t lie. Unique Skill: Weed Wacker When wearing these shoes and squatting, your chance to activate the special ability Ass-to-Grass is increased by 25%. If you are already wearing an item that has this skill then the overall chance of activation is an additional 30%. You might as well start up your own lawn service after this! Unique Skill: Neural Net Processor CPU With this unique skill, you are able to learn, assess and reassess your form with different ways to tweak your lifts to your benefit and advantage. This ability to “learn” and prevent bad habits is huge as a seasoned lifter. This is a passive ability and is always active so long as you are wearing these shoes. This automatically garners a: +1 Squat +1 Bench +1 Deadlift +1 Olympic Lifts +1 Overhead Press Battle Armor of the Fallen War Hero Type: Celestial Weight Vest Description: The WOD known as “Murph” is legendary in its own right. Named after the fallen war hero, Michael Murphy, “Murph” was the epitome of courage and selflessness. You only WISH you could be as badass as him. In honor of this brave soldier, anyone wearing a 5.11 Weighted Vest has a 5% for the piece of gear to be legendary status or higher. Those bastards lucky enough to get a celestial type are in the 1% of the population. However, the celestial perks on this chest rig only works when performing the “Murph” WOD. But, if the “Murph” WOD is done with this vest, it unlocks a vast amount of abilities for 29 hours after the workout is completed. Outside of that, the perks are standard and downright basic. #EmbraceTheSuck #ThankYouMichaelMurphy Stats: +1 Pull-ups +1 to Rucking +1 Grip Strength When “The Murph” ability is active. *Note: these perks, skills and abilities only activate on the completion of the “Murph” WOD using this vest. These advantages only last for 29 hours.* +2 STR +2 END +3 to Push-ups +3 to Pull-ups +3 to Squats 50% boost to confidence 50% boost to sleep recovery 100% boost to “sense of accomplishment” Special Ability: Honor thy Fallen When completing the “Murph” WOD, you gain a sense of pride and integrity that wasn’t there before. If you think this workout was hard then try to remember those that have fought bravely for your nation and sacrificed themselves so you could remain free. Do NOT take this lightly. The DOMS you feel are only a small reminder but upon completion of this workout, there’s a 14% chance you recover 14% faster than you normally would. Special Ability: One in the Tank After completing this workout, there’s a 5% chance the next time you do this workout that you’ll gain a fraction of the perks that are only active when the WOD is already completed. This could easily garner a better overall time each time you decide to do the “Murph” WOD if you’re smart about it and keep up the consistency. Special Bonus Buff: Inspire the Masses No one should go in alone and when completing the Murph, or upon full completion, there is a 60% chance that your hard work inspires others to join you. It’s much easier to have a teammate encourage you to keep going than the negative self-talk sabotage that happens when you're flying solo. BRCC Black Multicam Snapback/Warrior Poet Black Multicam Snapback Type: Rare Description: Nothing super special about these hats. They do what they are supposed to do: keep the sun out of your eyes and the hair out of your face. If you’re one of those guys who can pull-off a backwards hat, then kudos to you. Women find it sexy! But my guess is…you’re not one of those lucky few. Sorry, Charlie! Stats: +4 to “Keeping Hair out of Face” +2 to “Keeping Sun of of Eyes” Bonus Buff: Flip it in Reverse If you look good wearing a cap backwards then you are rewarded with a 35% chance to activate the Billy Badass buff. This ability gives you a +1 STR when performing sets of 3 or more on any exercise. All this to say, guys and gals: I'm letting my creative freak flag fly. For the most part, the perks, numbers and % don't really mean a whole lot. I will try and incorporate all the gear stats into my workout write-ups just to satiate my creativity and keep me engaged, though. Thanks for reading through everything if you made it this far! Time to kick ass on another 5-weeks! *BONUS CONTENT* Half way through this challenge, I will implement what's called: A Challenge Respec. This allows me to re-allocate my skills and goals in a way that I see fit and/or benefits me in the long run. Chances are, I will activate my "Mistborn Themed Challenge". This isn't necessarily here to make @Elastigirl happy, but I'm sure she'll appreciate it either way . Wolf

Alrighty. Tuesday 3/27 will be 31 weeks. This incubating creature is really pushing OUT a lot more than his predecessor it seems, and that is just not very comfortable. (Come on little dude, you could grow wider. My belly button would appreciate that very much!) This means: I have gained a little more than 25 lbs so far. I am tired. I have a list of things to get done at work before my last day on 5/19 (unless someone has earlier plans). My MIL has scheduled her flight out. I am seeing my therapist a little more often now because there are some things about last time that make this scary. Lifting and climbing are fine, but walking quickly for long distances just makes everything tight and uncomfortable. Endurance athlete I am not during these times. I am tired. Goals for the challenge: Just keep it together and take care of myself really. This means: Go to the gym 2-3 times a week to climb and lift. This makes my body feel better. Eat the way I need to eat. Right now breakfast and a big lunch are a recipe for feeling awful all afternoon. Lunch really much be split into two meals, 2 hours apart. This is much harder on days I actually work on site. Try not to feel guilty about what I'm too tired to get done. MFH is still healing from wrist surgery, so I'm on dish duty, but in other arenas he's pulling some overtime right now especially with managing the energy of a very energetic almost-4 year old. I also feel guilty when my work day falls apart because I don't feel well. In the next few days I will put together an update on our protagonist. She's still lugging an increasingly bouncy and glowing backpack containing a griffin egg out of the foothills. The terrain has eased up, but the length of the journey is definitely starting to show some wear.

Do I need to introduce myself? Goals: Marbles: I've been trying to figure out what's helping or hurting my mood on a daily basis. Since coloring in a pizza was a nice visual guide for tracking junk food consumption that helped quite a bit last challenge, I decided to do this with things that affect my mood and sort out the good days and the bad days and what's contributing to each. So I bought a few mini-goldfish bowls and a bunch of multi-colored marbles. The bowl in the middle holds the reservoir of marbles, and the marbles are color-coded as follows: Red = Writing Blue = Work Green = Health/fitness Yellow = social Multi-color swirl = environmental, aka all the little things The bowl on the left is for bad days, the bowl on the right is for good days. If I had a good day because of writing, I put a red marble in the right bowl. If I ruined the day by eating too much pizza and got indigestion, I put a marble in the left jar. If I had a 'meh' day with no strong feelings about it, no marbles move. Then at the end of the challenge, or whenever, I can look at the bowls and see if something is contributing disproportionately to good vs. bad days. Greyskull: Lift weights per Greyskull. I was on a really good run, but stopped for a break last week because of tendinitis in my wrist. I'm gonna restart this week with a deload on squats and switch from low bar squats to high bar squats Cholesterol: I still have to go in for a blood metabolic and lipid panel, but I'm not sure I've done enough to change habits and see if I can lower it. I've basically dropped whole eggs and eat mostly egg whites now... and my egg white omelette game is bangin'. But, I'm researching and finding that dietary cholesterol isn't the biggest driver, and it seems like eating lots of fiber is a bigger help. So starting the day with a bowl of oatmeal, and eating a can of beans daily should skyrocket my fiber intake. If I skip one or the other, I have some psylium husk fiber to make up for it. Writing: It's looking like we're going to keep going with our workshop, though without the author that kicked off the whole thing, so we'll see, but I likely won't need a writing goal since one of the driving forces of the workshop is daily accountability for word count and reading. Other stuff: I'm still playing chess regulary with kishi and KBGirl, and I have a 44 day streak on Duolingo studying Ukrainian.

Writing out my training plan in my first post last challenge worked really well for me. I'll still keep my analog log of what I've actually done, but I'd like to use this topic for planning and evaluating my training for 2023.

Yup. Just look at it. It's sticking out way too far. Even for an innie. It is winter and I am generally irritable and all this holiday food is everywhere. I just had my annual physical and talked with my doctor about weight loss, etc. I'm right where I was last year at least, so I haven't gained. But that cholesterol is still high, and we talked about medication and bariatric therapy (not surgery, just physician supervised weight loss). And in pondering all the options before me and looking more at my lifestyle, I'm realizing how far I've slid into general laziness and inconsistency farther than ever in my adult life. There is still so much more that I can be doing. 1) Fix my diet -- I have been running some numbers through some calculators. TDEE, body comp, macros... and oof. I'm not doing what I need to be doing for my metabolism and activity levels... both of which are low. I need to hammer out a feasible set of eating habits. 2) Create opportunities for Exercise/Activity -- work has me spending most of my 10 hours/day there sitting at a desk. While I've had nights where I get up and walk a couple laps, the occasional an sporadic. I need to create a daily routine for physical activity. I'm not in the situation where life is gonna just throw it to me. 3) Keep doing what I love to do, namely writing -- every minute scheduled toward word and exercise is one less that I have to write and finish these novels and stories. I need to create a robust, daily reading and writing routine. 4) Take better care of my shit -- the house and yard. The last year kinda got screwed up because I got sick in the spring, put off a lot of projects, then summer heat was relentless (or it was storming) and I got way behind on a lot of things. Again, I need to figure out a workable routine and stick to it. Notice the trend? Scheduling is needed. This helped a lot a couple of challenges ago. I need to get back to it. Some things I'm working on: 1) Eating plan: meals, timing, portion sizes, macros, etc. 2) Setting up a powerlifting routine: assessing training maxes, days/split, assistance lifts, etc. (Greyskull) 3) Coordinating 1 & 2 -- A mistake I often make is cutting too many calories while adding too much activity etc., and that creates burnout. 4) Plan and schedule meals and workouts. 5) Create intuitive and simple plans for execution. 6) Stick to my evening writing schedule. 7) Work in some additional reading and writing time... write/read during workout rest times. 8- Other? I bolded #5, because that's what needs emphasis here. This won't work unless I can accomplish that. Otherwise, I'm just building another elaborate plan that will fizzle three weeks or less into it. Anywho... Happy Ho Swolidays!

Hi. I'm Stronkey Kong. I've been on NF for 9 years now. I am still fat big. I will probably always be big... but I think I can choose what kind of big I am. I tried a bit of running this summer... it didn't really work out. Walking was good, but I kept hurt my calf the more I tried to run. I'm just too heavy for my leg muscles at the moment. I need to get some daily cardio in though. I am actually 290 lbs. right now. I'd be freaking out a little bit, but I've been lifting weights and following Greyskull LP. I shot up about 5-10 lbs since I started that. I haven't really changed the way I've been eating, as far as I can tell, so I'm thinking it's because of 'da pump.' My muscles should be retaining more glycogen and water at they repair and grow. For a variety of reasons, I've been eating a mostly vegan or 'bad vegan' diet. That is, mostly plants and almost no meat or dairy, though, I let myself indulge in cravings a couple times a week, and don't nitpick minor animal based ingredients... hence 'bad vegan.' Most of the time it's because I didn't prep, and I went for convenient options. It's hard to go over on calories when I plan ahead and keep it healthy, but when I get lost in the mid-week chaos, and/or have available junk food, I can go off the rails and undo any calorie deficits fast. I've also been spending a lot of time thinking about the next move(s) in my career. I have a good, well paying job, and am staged to be out of (extraneous) debt within 3 years. Though I still need to work about 45 hours/week on average to meet those goals. And, when that 3 years is up, I want to be moving on to something new. Preferably something where I can be my own boss, and do something creative... don't we all... I've been thinking a lot about writing again, or failing that web development... but since I prefer writing and have three years to go, I might as well see if I can start getting words down and get a novel out. Goals: Daily Cardio -- walking, stationary bike, heavy bag, jogging (if/when that becomes possible) GreySkull LP -- stick to the program ( 'plug-ins' optional) Bad Vegan Meal Prep -- buy/prep meals for the work week and avoid snack/junk food Write a Novel -- Write daily I have everything I need in order to get these goals done. Including a power cage and workout buddy: I also live near a bike path for walking/biking/jogging. I have the stat. bike in the living room, and a heavy bag in the basement. Meal prep just takes some time on Sunday, and organized grocery shopping. All I need to write is a computer, a desk, and some time. That is a lot, though, and as I mentioned I work 45 hours a week -- Noon-10 pm (ish) M-R, Noon-(as late as 8pm) F How will I do it all? Get organized and follow through with my plans. Plans: Daily Cardio -- first thing in the morning (fasted even) (about 10 am) GreySkull LP -- Lift M, W, F, every evening when I get home from work. T,R are for stretching and ab work. Sunday is rest. Bad Vegan Meal Prep -- Get a hold of that vegan casserole recipe list and make one every Sunday. Make a grocery list every week and stick to it. Meal prep every Sunday. Write a Novel -- Write every evening from 1-2 am. Sit at the computer, open my novel, and type away. (not sure which novel yet 😕 ) Preliminary stuff: Yes, I saw the mini-challenge... I'll be doing the walking, but I saw some things posted about other stuff involving posting things somewhere, and was like meh, I'm not gonna bother. On Wed. Sept 13, I'm taking the day off of work to attend an online writing class with my local writing center (meet some local writers, connect, get advice). After that I will definitely be hacking away at writing and tracking word count. Until then I'll mostly be plotting, outlining, and sketching scenes. Reviewing old material. Etc. But I'm gonna put an hour or so into that every night until the class. The following weekend, Fri-Sun, I'm going up to Wisconsin to visit friends, eat cheese, and drink beer. So I'll miss those days on the schedule but whatever. It's fine. After that weekend, I will be back on the mostly straight and mostly narrow path of walking, lifting, eating plants, and writing.

Hello fellow warriors. I have a powerlifting meet coming up in November, my first meet in 4 years! I'm excited to get on the platform again. I'm nowhere near my previous best lifts, but I will also be competing in a lower weight class so in a way, everything will still be a PR. Most of my training will be focused on preparing for this meet while also maintaining my sanity through the high holidays and also I just got a promotion at work (they are letting me supervise other people!) so I may have to focus more on work/life balance than I have in the past as well.

RECAP: I love picking up heavy things! Have been doing so for the last decade, sometimes in competitions, but haven't competed since 2018. In 2020 to mid-2021 there was an 18 month complete hiatus from the iron (a combination of, you know, [gestures around] and also a delightful new addition to our family!) Since then I got back into lifting, and have spent the last year returning to fighting form. I have signed up for a powerlifting meet in November, so this challenge and the next will be focused on preparing for that. CHALLENGE GOALS: 1. Weight training 4x per week - I'm finishing a hypertrophy block now, I have a planned week off for vacation in mid August, then transitioning into a 12 week meet prep 2. Nutrition - I have been using Macro Factor app with great success for the past ~5 months, continue logging daily 3. Compete in the 181 lb weight class (lose 8 lb by November 13th) 4. Yardwork day on Sunday mornings - I did this last challenge and it worked so well at motivating me to actually get stuff done, bringing it back again!

Hi I'm KB Girl, 34 year old mom of two littles (5&2), gym owner, kettlebell sport coach, avid Harry Potter fan fiction reader, novice gardener and lifter of heavy things in many shapes. I struggle with juggling too many things I want to be doing and things I feel I should be doing. The overwhelm does my mental health no good. In the past bullet journaling has helped me keep that overwhelm at bay while also helping me focus on all the good things in life, so I want to get back my regular habit of using it. Main quest: use my bullet journal Perfectionism is standing in my way, there are so many things I have used my bujo for in the past and I also have many ideas for how I could be using it and now I feel like I have to pick all of that back up straight away.. which is bullshit. I think that if I give myself permission to start small that I will gradually pick things back up and start new things. Plan: write down one good thing about the day, every day, ideally right after the kids fall asleep and I've cleared some space for it if necessary. Side quest: pick up running I dislike starting running because.. well its painful at first isn't it? I've always toyed with the idea of pushing through that initial phase because it would be very beneficial for my kettlebell lifting, but never felt motivated enough. This has changed in Porto when two of my teammates would go for a run together in the morning- it seemed like such a great way of doing some extra sightseeing. I love being outdoors, running could be something I'll love. Plan: start small, on Saturdays when my 5yo is in swimming class and on Wednesdays after lifting heavy things. Bonus challenge: grow and cook good food! This one is simple! I shall learn all the things about the growing and the cooking! if the stars align I might even write down in my bujo what I'm learning aka what went wrong and what I'll have to do different next time Plan: there is no plan! just winging it. Also give me all your recipes involving lettuce, because I have so much lettuce to eat!

I actually recently FINISHED a very successful challenge, and looking to keep that momentum going! Just got back from 9 days of vacation visiting the family, drove a total of 2,000 miles, but it was also planned time off from training/tracking and it went really well. Really happy with the balance I struck of enjoying myself and not worrying about the macro nutrient profile of everything that went in my mouth - but not overdoing it either. This challenge lines up fairly well with my second mesocycle prepping for my next powerlifting meet in July. Some of my goals will be focused on supporting this but trying to keep a holistic approach as well. CHALLENGE GOALS: 1. Steps - at least 7k daily (+1 point each day, +4 points if the week is over 60k) 2. Training - at least 4x per week (+1 point each day completed, +4 points if I surpass reps/weights from the previous mesocycle week) 3. Nutrition - 120g protein daily, (+1 point each day, +4 points if I consistently track the entire week) Total possible points: 165 If I earn at least 130 points I will do something nice for myself, TBD. If anyone is interested this is the template for the PL program I am running: https://rippedbody.com/intermediate-powerlifting-program/ The only wrench in the works is I am still rehabbing my shoulder (I tweaked it playing on the monkey bars about 2 weeks ago), nothing is seriously damaged but I am going to PT to try and get full ROM back. It is limiting OHP quite a bit, and to a lesser extent BP. But I should still be able to proceed with most of my training.

My last challenge was unfortunately derailed halfway through by COVID, but thankfully all is better now. I still have a lingering cough that occasionally flares, but seems to be slowly fading. I figured better late than never to finish out the last 2 challenge weeks! The goals: 1. Track all macros daily I definitely completely fell out of this habit! Been trying to get back into it for the past week and it has been spotty. Protein intake went way down, if I'm not actively prioritizing it, I will not intuitively eat anywhere near what is recommended for my goals. 2. Train 4x per week After a month of not touching weights just started again this past week. Still enjoying the upper/lower split routine so I am going to stick with it. 3. Minimum 7k 5k steps daily Since my daily average has been closer to 4k I'm going to adjust this one and build back up. Doing the thing!

This is a throwback! My very first challenge I posted on NF was in February 2013. I had just started lifting and was living that Stronglifts 5x5 life. It is crazy to think I'm still in love with throwing heavy things around 8 years later. And still doing NF challenges! The previous challenge was my first one back in a long time. I focused on rebuilding some basic healthy habits, this challenge will be to solidify and expand on those habits. I am working on a longterm weight loss plan so I can show off all these muscles I've built over the years. So far this year I have lost 16 pounds (239 lb -> 223). My ultimate goal is to lose 25-30 more so I can walk around in the 198 lb (90kg) class. It will take the time that it takes. So I will do as many NF challenges as I can along the way! Trial the First: Feats of Strength! Follow training program (4 sessions per week) which is 5/3/1-ish. I will include more details at the bottom of the post for those interested. +1 EXP for each session completed (20 possible) Trial the Second: Feats of Sustenance! Eat at least 120g of protein per day. +1 EXP for each day goal is hit (35 possible) Trial the Third: Feats of Endurance! Walk >9,000 steps daily +1 EXP for each day goal is hit (35 possible) If I am able to get at least 80/90 points I will do something nice for myself. I haven't decided what yet. My training program: - 4 sessions per week focusing on a main lift (OHP, SQ, BP, DL) - Following 5/3/1 percentages (Week 1 3x5 65/75/85; Week 2 3x3 70/80/90; Week 3 75/85/95; Week 4 deload) - Instead of doing the 3rd set as AMRAP, I do a 4th set for AMRAP in the 60-70% range - On the third week (5/3/1) instead of AMRAP I do top singles - 3-4 accessories per lift, usually in the 8-20 range and using double progression (8-12 for things like compound DB movements, 15-20 for isolation work) - Also I change/omit/add things when needed, but this is the nuts and bolts - I don't expect to hit any lifetime PRs or build new muscle while training in a deficit, but I have a lot of previously built strength I can recover along the way!

It's been a minute, and the world has changed quite a bit in 2020. I'm here and I'm well. Numbtongue's Language Lessons I'm in an odd place with linguistics, between covid stealing some of my spoons and me being happy in an unprecedented way, language study fell in my priority list over the last 4 months. This challenge is part of finishing 2020 with a daily German news and duolingo habit. 2021 has me adding French again, and slowly working on my Icelandic vocab, but for now this challenge is about daily success with my old workhorse friend, Deutsch. Grimalkin's Cruel Tutelage This project is to set end of year targets for the big four lifts, and hit my mid quarter goals by end of challenge. Garden of Sanctuary This project is to track minutes per day spent in sitting practice. For this challenge, I'm only counting minutes spent in seated meditation or prostrate in seid-work; sleepily drifting while I'm in bed at night doesn't count, nor does sneakily counting yoga time. The larger goal is to grow my practice, but I'm not setting target metrics yet, just tracking. Octavia's Workbench I have a few backlogged orders for mediation beads and percussion instruments I'm behind on. This goal is to log what projects I have outstanding, get them all completed and mailed before holiday shipping craziness locks everything down. Olesm's Chess Journal I'm playing a few tabletops via video call during covid. A dear friend is running a small forgotten realms 5e heroic tier, and I'm running a Dresden RPG campaign set in milwaukee. Expect to hear nonsense about either campaigns in this section.

Welcome to the Nerd Fitness Deadlift Leaderboard. Below you will find the top Deadlift lifts (that have been reported) on the Nerd Fitness forum organized by Wilkes Points. For more information about the Wilkes Coefficient, go here. The following are the rules for using the Nerd Fitness Leaderboards. You must have at least 50 posts - We don't want random people just showing up and posting just to be on the Leaderboards. If you don't have 50 posts yet, be an active member and come back when you do. You must have been active in the last 6 months - This is meant to be for active members. If you are not active for 6 months, you will be removed. If you once again become active, you are more than welcome to post your new PRs and join back up! Your lifts must be current - No posting 'This was my lift 2 years ago'. All lifts must have been completed since joining NF. You must update your lift at least once every 2 years to stay on the Leaderboards. - Similar to the previous point, we want the Leaderboards to be current. Therefore, entries that are older then 2 years old will be pruned. Weights should be reported in KG, not pounds. - This is the weight system power lifting competitions use. If pounds are your mass measurement of choice, just multiply your total by 0.454 to find the equivalent mass in kilograms. Yes, I know pounds are a unit of force, but you know we use it like mass when it comes to body weight. You can report a weight in a set that you've done. - You will only be given credit for the weight you lifted in terms of the leaderboard (i.e. if you did 100kg for 5 reps, you'd only be given credit for 100kg on the leadreboard). That said, if you provide a set with reps, I will calculate the an estimated 1RM for you. Just check out that column after I get the entry updated. If you'd like to be put on the Leaderboards, please reply this this thread with the following information: Gender Bodyweight Weight Lifted and number of reps (typically your 1RM) Also, if you enter any of the NF Virtual Lifting Competitions, entries for those will be migrated to the Leaderboards (only if it improves your Wilkes score). I will try to update the Leaderboard after each challenge and/or virtual lifting competition. If things haven't updated in awhile, harass me via PM (profile can be found here). NOTE: if you are viewing this on tapatalk, it may not work. Please view from your browser.

I used to compete at a decent level in powerlifting. After piddling around for the last decade or so and not really training, I have actually taken advantage of the quarantine, working out at home on a regular basis again. I have been a member of this site for a few years now, but have not fully utilized it. I'm hoping to change that now as I pursue consistency. With all that said, I have been putting weekly updates up on my personal blog. https://iamweez.com/category/fitness/ Follow along with me, please. I train alone. I don't mind that so much. But community goes a long way. I have been lucky to be a part of a couple of pretty good powerlifting teams in the past, and miss that some days.

Fitness Goals Summary Build a sustainable strength training program that fits into my schedule and uses both powerlifting (with dumbbells and maybe preloaded barbells for now) and bodyweight exercises to build functional strength Achieve my first-in-a-long-time pull-up Achieve my first-in-a-long-time push-up with good form Does not bore me (I'm the type to rewrite my workout regimen every single time I do anything) Peri (or is it circum?) workout nutrition Controlling my hunger on rest days Food tracking for this. The lower maintenance the app for this the better. ALL THE INFO IN THE SPOILER (which probably means my formatting just got ducked up) Updated U 01 March 2020 11:36 UTC -5

I'm coming back after a large hiatus from NF but not such a large hiatus from lifting, although since December 2018 it has not been as frequent or the quality that I wanted. To put it simply, since December 2018 things went to shit! Buuuuuut here we are, closing out 2019, with an application put in for the January 2020 Novice Powerlifting Competition in Perth WA, (my 3rd) hoping to not truly embarass myself, and now having a very solid goal to work towards. A goal to become consistent with training once more, to take that leap and find a coach, to not sweat the small stuff and let it derail everything, and move forward without looking back because "we aren't going that way". My training program starts Monday the 23rd of October but I am starting the Challenge now, with a shed clean up and a couple of days just getting under the bar, moving and finding my bearings again. Looking froward to meeting new and old NF riends and working towards success.

So here we are, after an absence of years, I have come home to where most of it began. Since last treading these boards, we have had success and failure, death and new life, summer, winter, autumn and spring, lost religion found a new one, and just recently cut people from my life who although family were extremely toxic. I am back in here to find my motivation, my mojo, my tribe. I have signed up for my 3rd novice powerlifting meet and need to find some like minded people, as there is no one remotely close in physical proximity that lifts like I did/do/want to. To new beginnings and finding old acquaintences! G'day and Cheers

So possibly unsurprisingly if you followed my last challenge which was So You Think You Can Danced themed, this time around I'll be inspiring myself by sprinkling Dancing with the Stars (and Strictly) gifs around this challenge . I'll get back to my regularly scheduled nerdery in September XD So let's see, for anyone just joining me the main thing to know is that in the last year I have very seriously gotten into ballroom dancing, mainly latin (so cha cha, rumba, samba, jive, paso doble) but I dabble in smooth/standard (waltz/viennese waltz/foxtrot/tango/quickstep). I have my very first big competition the first weekend of the challenge on August 3 which I have been prepping like CRAZYYYYY during the past challenge. After that I have a small window to chillax and not be prepping for an impending big event (I've got an intramural/between studios/unofficial competition in September but it's not really a big deal) so I'm going to try to use this challenge to get a handle back on some of the things I've been slacking on in my life. Like domestic rangering, food stuffs, general organization, and being more consistent with lifting (for the past month I've pretty much just been lifting whenever I have time which sometimes is 3x/week and sometimes was 1x/week so it's just been all over the place). Here are my goals (bonuses are nice-to-dos but I won't consider it a failure if I don't do them): Goal 1: Lift Stick to a real lifting schedule of Monday Wednesday/Thursday and Saturday. My HRC meetings and private dance lessons vary from week to week in terms of Wednesdays/Thursdays so I'm OK with keeping that particular thing up in the air but I have to make a decision in the beginning of each week which day it will be. Bonus: Don't skip accessories! (usually I try to do curls, crunches, push ups, pull up work, and calf raises but I've been skimping on the accessory work as of late) Goal 2: Organize Use my bullet journal - post my weekly spreads here in the beginning AND end of the week. Bonus: Post my monthly spreads at the end of the challenge too! Goal 3: Eat Only eat out 3 meals a week or less. Bonus: Share my food log from my bullet journal here. Goal 4: Maintain ROMWOD (mobility work for those unfamiliar with it) and meditation 6x/week Bonus: Attend one or more restorative yoga class during the challenge Goal 5: Dance Continuing on from last challenge, share a dance video once a week. Next challenge I'll probably have to cut this down since I'm running out of material (I don't take the time to take videos every single lesson and don't really want to) but for now, especially after the comp, I should have 5 more weeks of stuff to share Bonus: Practice on my own 3x/week. I haven't really done this before aside from running my routines, but one of my teachers has been giving us great pointers on how and what to do for targeted practice on our own so even if it's just for 15 minutes I want to start doing this.

Figured I might as well start a log. I do a little bodyweight, some barbell and some running. Currently starting 5/3/1 and doing a bit of trail running. I log some stuff on Fitbit and Myfitnesspal for my calorie and macro counting. So now eights today but a 4.33 mile hilly train run in about 50 minutes.

Welcome to the Nerd Fitness Bench Press Leaderboard. Below you will find the top Bench Press lifts (that have been reported) on the Nerd Fitness forum organized by Wilkes Points. For more information about the Wilkes Coefficient, go here. The following are the rules for using the Nerd Fitness Leaderboards. You must have at least 50 posts - We don't want random people just showing up and posting just to be on the Leaderboards. If you don't have 50 posts yet, be an active member and come back when you do. You must have been active in the last 6 months - This is meant to be for active members. If you are not active for 6 months, you will be removed. If you once again become active, you are more than welcome to post your new PRs and join back up! Your lifts must be current - No posting 'This was my lift 2 years ago'. All lifts must have been completed since joining NF. You must update your lift at least once every 2 years to stay on the Leaderboards. - Similar to the previous point, we want the Leaderboards to be current. Therefore, entries that are older then 2 years old will be pruned. Weights should be reported in KG, not pounds. - This is the weight system power lifting competitions use. If pounds are your mass measurement of choice, just multiply your total by 0.454 to find the equivalent mass in kilograms. Yes, I know pounds are a unit of force, but you know we use it like mass when it comes to body weight. You can report a weight in a set that you've done. - You will only be given credit for the weight you lifted in terms of the leaderboard (i.e. if you did 100kg for 5 reps, you'd only be given credit for 100kg on the leadreboard). That said, if you provide a set with reps, I will calculate the an estimated 1RM for you. Just check out that column after I get the entry updated. If you'd like to be put on the Leaderboards, please reply this this thread with the following information: Gender Bodyweight Weight Lifted and number of reps (typically your 1RM) Also, if you enter any of the NF Virtual Lifting Competitions, entries for those will be migrated to the Leaderboards (only if it improves your Wilkes score). I will try to update the Leaderboard after each challenge and/or virtual lifting competition. If things haven't updated in awhile, harass me via PM (profile can be found here). NOTE: if you are viewing this on tapatalk, it may not work. Please view from your browser.

Welcome to the Nerd Fitness Squat Leaderboard. Below you will find the top Squat lifts (that have been reported) on the Nerd Fitness forum organized by Wilkes Points. For more information about the Wilkes Coefficient, go here. The following are the rules for using the Nerd Fitness Leaderboards. You must have at least 50 posts - We don't want random people just showing up and posting just to be on the Leaderboards. If you don't have 50 posts yet, be an active member and come back when you do. You must have been active in the last 6 months - This is meant to be for active members. If you are not active for 6 months, you will be removed. If you once again become active, you are more than welcome to post your new PRs and join back up! Your lifts must be current - No posting 'This was my lift 2 years ago'. All lifts must have been completed since joining NF. You must update your lift at least once every 2 years to stay on the Leaderboards. - Similar to the previous point, we want the Leaderboards to be current. Therefore, entries that are older then 2 years old will be pruned. Weights should be reported in KG, not pounds. - This is the weight system power lifting competitions use. If pounds are your mass measurement of choice, just multiply your total by 0.454 to find the equivalent mass in kilograms. Yes, I know pounds are a unit of force, but you know we use it like mass when it comes to body weight. You can report a weight in a set that you've done. - You will only be given credit for the weight you lifted in terms of the leaderboard (i.e. if you did 100kg for 5 reps, you'd only be given credit for 100kg on the leadreboard). That said, if you provide a set with reps, I will calculate the an estimated 1RM for you. Just check out that column after I get the entry updated. If you'd like to be put on the Leaderboards, please reply this this thread with the following information: Gender Bodyweight Weight Lifted and number of reps (typically your 1RM) Also, if you enter any of the NF Virtual Lifting Competitions, entries for those will be migrated to the Leaderboards (only if it improves your Wilkes score). I will try to update the Leaderboard after each challenge and/or virtual lifting competition. If things haven't updated in awhile, harass me via PM (profile can be found here). Note: leaderboard only shows in your web browser and not on tapatalk